Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. Well... Just Fat.

The End

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 01:04:00 +0000

So it's been some time, and for that I apologize. To anyone that was reading this blog and to myself. For those of you who were wondering, I did not quit or give up! I've been extremely busy over the last few month's but that's still no excuse. So,here's the rundown. At contest's end I was down a total of just over 35 lbs. From 271 to about 235. It was a pretty visible difference. I had managed to get a decent routine together of juicing 2 times a day and eating a salad or vegetable(tomato, lettuce, and cucumber) sandwich for dinner. I would throw in some raw almonds occasionally as well as cheese or milk every once in a while. I was pretty sure I was going to win. And boy was I ready to have a celebratory weekend eating whatever I wanted!

But then the word came that there were going to be some people out of work on the weigh in day. At first they said we were going to push back the weigh in a few days. While this did put a damper on my weekend plans, I was OK with it and I could accommodate. Then on the first day to weight in, the organizer came around with an envelope.

The contest had to be cancelled due to some people complaining that they wouldn't be around in time for any of the weight in days...

Heartbreak. I had worked so hard to get to where I was and I had plans for the prize money (like paying for my juicer). But because of some complaints we had to stop the whole thing.

Boo. But oh well. In the end I had lost a good bit of weight, my clothes fit better, and I was feeling healthier. I'm not going to lie and say I've been juicing the same ever since but I have made some changes to my diet and incorporate far more fruits and vegetables than I did before. My breakfasts are typically 2 apples and a banana. That fills me up more than any breakfast pouch or sandwich typically did. After a little while off the wagon, I have cut out soda and coffee again. I have learned that a meal doesn't have to be some set in stone idea of a "Meat & three" or starchy pasta dish. Not every meal needs a protein base.

So all in all... Am I going to tell you to juice everyday for the rest of your life? Not every meal, but if you have the determination to do one or two a day, I'd say go for it ! I don't see any downsides. Should you try juicing at all? Definitely! I would hope that as with me, you could see some positive results and some long term insights into your overall dietary habits.

I will probably try to throw in a few more posts about some of the other things I've learned along the way. Like how many different apples there are for no reason, and other ways to use some of the vegetables for your juicing.

If you're reading this or any of the other posts, Thank You! And I hope my diet experience has helped someone else in any way as much as it helped me.

Oh, and somewhere in there I won a chili cook-off! (I've only made chili three times in my life...) I'll share my recipe and experience at some point!

Long Time, No See...

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:19:00 +0000

I apologize for my lack of posts as of late and I just wanted to say I am juicing still for those interested. I have a few mose posts I want to write including a wrap up from the weight loss contest that ends in 3 days. I've been super busy (partially thanks to having more energy from juicing) so I haven't had the time to post.

Coming Soon:
Wrap it up
Apples to Apples
How to Cheat Without Getting Caught

"Pulp Fiction"

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Another quick post...

So I made some pineapple juice. And the juice was delicious. Pineapple is a great fruit to juice if you want to get a lot of juice and great flavor.

But...

After juicing the pineapple, I was cleaning up my juicer as normal. Looking at the pineapple pulp, it made me think about how I had heard that you could use the pulp from say carrots, zucchini, or pineapple in baked goods or other similar items.

It is not. I was amazed. The pineapple pulp was pineapple but without the flavor. So the juicer does its job, and if you want to make some flavorful baked goods, I would use the real stuff.

5K, Healthy Cheats, and Links!

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:21:00 +0000

So my weight loss has inspired me to try and also get fit. Just for the record, I am now below 250lbs at around 247lbs. First milestone achieved. Now I am starting to plan for a 5K to help me lose more weight. I am using sparkpeople.com and their "5K Your Way" program. You can check it out in the links list below. I've just started but I think I'm really going to enjoy it. The ultimate goal is to prep for www.zombiebuffet5k.com, Yes!!!

Healthy Cheats

I am trying to do better with my cheating and as I said in my last post, I am trying to be a weekday vegetarian. My main meal during the week when I want or need some solid food is just a simple cucumber, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. Wheat bread, a little spicy mustard, and a slice of cheese and that's it. I use green leaf or red leaf lettuce because I prefer them but you could use spinach or whatever green you like.

Last weekend I made some non-vegetarian healthy food. Having a variety of veg always around the house certainly helps.

Stuffed Peppers - diced chicken, turnip greens, mirepiox(carrots, celery, onion) and a little chili powder and red pepper. Saute, stuff, bake, and top with some Parmesan. Tasty!

Links - I wanted to gather up as many of the resources I have used and put them here in case anyone wanted to check them out. Some you may find in my other posts but most of them are new.

5K your way program - From couch potato to marathon runner - http://www.sparkpeople.com/myspark/training-program.asp?p=6

Reboot Your Life - The sister site for "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead": juice recipes, videos, community, etc...- http://www.jointhereboot.com/index.php?lang=en

The Juice Nut - Recipes and nutrition information - http://www.thejuicenut.com/

The Juicing Book - Information on the various fruits and veggies and juicing them - http://www.juicingbook.com/

Greenwala - Healthy food info (I got my butternut squash juice recipe here) http://www.greenwala.com/channels/food-healthy-living

Videos:

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead - http://www.hulu.com/watch/289122/fat-sick-and-nearly-dead

Forks Over Knives - http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734/forks-over-knives

The Future of Food - http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food

King Corn - http://www.hulu.com/watch/255609/king-corn

Mark Bittman's Food Matters(Seminar Video) - http://forum-network.org/lecture/mark-bittman-food-matters

And if you have Netflix there are those and many more movies available. Just browse the documentaries or search food. I've seen most of them and they tend to be very informative and mostly entertaining.

If anyone has any other sites or movie recommendations, or if you've seen any of the movies, let me know in the comments!

P.S. - A thanks to my "Big Sis" for showing me the 5K your way program and being someone to compare and take notes with.

Weekday vegetarian

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:21:00 +0000

So, it's been a little while since my last post. Apologies. I'm going to try and cover a few points that I've run across recently here in one post, so here we go.

1. Weekday vegetarian.
-Unfortunately I have been cheating on my juice diet more than I would like, and while most of the time my cheats are still healthy and vegetarian, there have been a few occasions where I snuck in some chicken, fish, or occasionally a burger (shhh!). The thing that I can't figure out really is why. Sure, I enjoy the taste of these foods, but I don't think I'm really craving them. Nor do I feel good about eating them before, during or after. I feel much better when I stick to the fruits and vegetables. So why? I think it's just a matter of think that in some way, I have to eat meat to stay healthy. As a member of modern American society, I was raised on the contemporary diet that has each meal being "meat & sides". Without meat you feel like you're missing out. I don't crave the taste of a big juicy steak that much, nor do I crave fried chicken or fish. But I feel like they should be a part of my diet somehow so what ends up happening is I will buy some fish or chicken, and then I have it in the house and it's there for me to use, tempting me. Making a salad? Add some salmon. Cucumber, lettuce, and tomato Sandwich? Sounds better with chicken. So what to do? One answer may be to plan my meat eating. I recently watched the TED talks on food and found Graham Hill talking about his decision to become a vegetarian. Like many people, he was turned of by the all or nothing mentality that typically comes with being a vegetarian. Here's his solution: as the name implies, nothing with a face Monday through Friday, and your choice on weekends. I'm going to give it a go. If you're interested, here's his article. http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/try-a-weekday-vegetarian-diet-eat-green-food-without-taking-the-plunge.html

2. Are all greens created equal?
-When I make my weekly trip to the grocery store, I try to catch any deals I can on something I may not normally use. Among these items I've tried are zucchini, yellow squash, various peppers, butternut squash, and a variety of greens. I'll get to the winners in a minute but first to the bad ideas. So far, I would say if you have a recipe you like, don't mess with it. I tried adding green peppers to the mean green juice, not good. After reading online that many people juice various leaf lettuces, I tried red leaf lettuce instead of kale in the mean green, blech. So if you want to try some new produce, I'd find a recipe instead of modifying an existing one. Fruit may be the exception to this as I don't know that you can really mess up fruit juice. Which brings me to...

3. A new standard recipe
My go-to recipes are "Apple Carrot" for breakfast (with ginger, pear, or pineapple for variety), and "Mean Green" (occasionally with zucchini) or "Tomato Red Pepper" (with sweet potato, carrot, and Tabasco) for lunch and dinner. I've added a new regular to the mix thanks to a sale on butternut squash.

"Spiced Apple and Butternut Squash Juice"

4 apples
1/2 butternut squash
1 carrot
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

I believe I used more squash and less apple but it was quite delicious, and a good mix from my others. I may try to come up with a juice in every color, so I have green, orange, red, and yellowish (apple) for now.

That's about it for now. I'll try and add posts more frequently as I think of something useful to add...

Hunger game

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:56:00 +0000

Quick post... So I have allergies. But I haven't taken any regular medicine for them in quite some time. But with the weather like it is, and all of the pollen,etc... the occasional Benadryl wasn't cutting it. So this weekend I wanted to go out jogging so I bought some Zyrtec. Pro: my allergies don't bother me as much. Con: after I noticed a definite change I looked it up and a known side effect is increased appetite. :/ . I knew I was hungrier than normal and that my hunger wasn't going away. So I'm going to deal with the allergies I guess and stop Zyrtec. Moral of the story: check the side effects if you are taking any medicines because they could effect your diet or worse your health when you diet.

Quick update

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:02:00 +0000

Ok. I have 2 quick updates.
1. For those if you who couldn't tell, yesterday was an April fools joke. That was not beer it was my lunch mean green juice. I happened to put it in that cup and thought it looked like beer so... I have not quit. I well have a bigger update soon.
2. Right now, www.jointhereboot.com is celebrating the one year anniversary of the movie and website. To celebrate, they're giving away 10 breville juicer bundles to random members so if you haven't already signed up for the site, now would be a great time.
And just to clarify,I am in no way affiliated with join the reboot or "Fat sick and nearly dead". Just a fan. :)
More soon.

I Quit

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:29:00 +0000

So I don't think I can do it anymore. I've tried to juice 3 meals a day and I just can't do it. My weight loss has also slowed down quite a bit and on top of that there's a guy in the contest that weighs half as much as I do and he's lost nearly as much weight so I have to work twice as hard to beat him :( so I decided to do what makes me happy. 1st order of business is to make up for missing St. Patrick's Day. Whoo green beer!!

How about them Apples

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 01:01:00 +0000

I know they say "an apple a day", but what about 7? That's the minimum I eat a day when I have apple juice for breakfast and mean green for lunch or dinner.

Cheap Breville

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:23:00 +0000

http://memphis.craigslist.org/hsh/2928994125.html

Freebies

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 21:28:00 +0000

So randomly in the mail this afternoon I had my free "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" DVD. Nice! If you order a Breville from their website and use the code reboot they'll send you one. Being that I've already seen the movie twice and it's still available on Netflix, if anyone does not have Netflix but would like to see this movie, let me know in the comments and I will try and get it to you. I work for FedEx so shipping isn't much of a problem.

Veggie sub

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:17:00 +0000

I am literally salivating on my way home thinking about making a veggie sub for dinner. Thank you juicing for making healthy normal meals exciting!

Update:
Here it is. Wheat french bread, sharp cheddar, green leaf lettuce, cucumber, green pepper, red onion, tomato, pickle, and spicy mustard. Delicious. Eat it Subway.

Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 00:05:00 +0000

So let me say very clearly that I copied these straight from www.jointhereboot.com and in no way created these recipes. I just wanted to put them together on one page because frankly, the webpage isn't easy to search and find recipes on. As you can tell some of them are pretty similar, and the names aren't very creative but you get the idea. Other than the Mean Green, I can't say I've tried any of these specifically. I have done Apple carrot and ginger together before for breakfast.

ABCs

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 430

· Protein: 11 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 0 gm

· Carbs: 76 gm

§ 2 Asian Pears

§ 2 Apples (Choose any variety!)

§ 2 Beets

§ 2 Carrots

§ 1 cup Cabbage (Choose any variety!)

§ 6 handfuls Chard 3 cups

Apple-Beet-Carrot Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 280 kcal

· Protein: 8 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 47 gm

§ 1 Apple

§ 2 Beets

§ 3 Large Carrots

§ 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

§ 4 cups Spinach/Kale

Apple cabbage carrot swiss chard ginger lemon

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 321

· Protein: 10 g

· Fiber: 2 g

§ 2 Apples

§ 1 wedge Red Cabbage

§ 2 large Carrots

§ 1 piece Ginger (thumb sized)

§ 6 leaves Swiss Chard

§ 1/4 lemon

Apple Cabbage Greens Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 321 kcal

· Protein: 10 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 59 gm

§ 2 Apples

§ 1 wedge Red Cabbage

§ 2 large Carrots

§ 1 piece Ginger (thumb sized)

§ 6 leaves Swiss Chard

§ 1/4 lemon

· Apple Cantaloupe Honeydew Kale Swiss Chard

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Calories: 320

· Protein: 10g

· Fiber: 4g

§ 2 Apples

§ 1/2 Cantaloupe

§ 1/2 Honeydew

§ 6-8 leaves Kale

§ 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

Apple Carrot Beet

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 300 kcal

· Protein: 9 g

· Fiber: 2.5 g

§ 2 Apples

§ 4 Carrots

§ 2 Beets

§ 6 leaves swiss chard – 1.5 cup

§ 1” ginger root (1 tablespoon)

· BBQ Blow out Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 204 kcal

· Protein: 5.3 gm

· Fiber: 4.4 gm

· Carbs: 38.9 gm (34.5 gm minus fiber)

§ 1-2 wedges purple/red Cabbage

§ 1 Beet

§ 2 Carrots

§ 1-2 Apples (try organic fuji for a sweet flavor)

§ squeeze of Lemon

Beet Celeriac Carrot

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 285 kcal

· Protein: 7 g

· Fiber: 1 g

· Total Fat: .5 gm

· Carbs: 52 gm

§ 4 Carrots (stems removed)

§ 1/2-1 Apple (seeded)

§ 1/2 Celeriac root

§ 1 Beet

§ 1/4 inch slice Ginger root (optional)

Blackberry Kiwi

· Calories: 230

· Protein: 5g

· Fiber: 2g

§ 1/4 large Pineapple (core removed and roughly cubed)

§ 1 cup Blackberries

§ 1 Kiwi Fruit

§ 1/4 Comice Pear

§ 1/4 cup Coconut Water

§ 30 Mint leaves

· Bountiful Brassica Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 382 kcal

· Protein: 21 gm

· Fiber: 1 gm

· Total Fat: 2 gm

· Carbs: 52 gm

§ 2 Broccoli stalks

§ 1/2 head or 2 wedges Green Cabbage

§ 2 cups or 6-8 leaves of Kale

§ 1 organic Granny Smith Apple

§ 1/4 Lemon (peeled)

§ 1” Ginger root

Bruschetta Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 80 kcal

· Protein: 3 gm

· Fiber: .5 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 14 gm

§ 2 medium sized Tomatoes

§ 1-2 cloves Garlic, peeled

§ 20 fresh Basil leaves

Carrot Apple Ginger Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 233 kcal

· Protein: 3 gm

· Fiber: 3 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 46 gm

§ 3 organic Carrots

§ 2 organic Apples

§ 1 small piece of Ginger (about 1")

Carrot Kale Combo

· Calories: 280

· Protein: 9g

· Fiber: 1g

§ 1 Green Apple

§ 3 handfuls Spinach

§ 6-8 Kale leaves

§ 4 large Carrots

§ 1 piece Ginger (thumb size)

· Celery Root and Pear Juice

· Prep: 10 minutes

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 190

· Protein: 3 gm

· Fiber: 1 gm

· Total Fat: .5 gm

· Carbs: 38 gm

This simple, light, and refreshing juice is rich in electrolytes, sodium, potassium, and magnesium – making it a perfect choice for active Rebooters or anyone looking for a natural alternative to sports drinks.

§ 3 small celery roots, ~1 cup chopped (also called celeriac)

§ 1 1/2 bosc pears

Cinnamon Apple and Squash Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Serves: 2

· Calories: 175

· Protein: 5 gm

· Fiber: 0 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 58 gm

§ 4 cups butternut squash

§ 1 large organic honeycrisp apple

§ dash cinnamon

Citrus Inspired Green Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 388 kcal

· Protein: 16 gm

· Fiber: 3 gm

§ 6-8 leaves Kale

§ 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

§ 1 Cucumber

§ 6 Clementines

Cranberry Citrus Juice

· Prep: 10 minutes

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 266

· Protein: 4 gm

· Fiber: 4 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 50 gm

§ 1 cup cranberries

§ 1 orange, peel removed

§ 1 organic apple

§ 1 cup butternut squash, cubed

§ 4-6 leaves collard greens (about 1 cup, packed)

Dracula’s Dream Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Calories: 260

· Protein: 10 gm

· Fiber: 3 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 43 gm

§ 2 Beets

§ 2 organic Carrots

§ 1 cup organic Strawberries

§ 6-8 Kale leaves/2 cups

Gazpacho Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 215 kcal

· Protein: 11 g

· Fiber: 0 g

· Total Fat: 2 gm

· Carbs: 31 gm

§ 4 Plum Tomatoes

§ 1 large Cucumber

§ 2 stalks Celery

§ 1 Red Bell Pepper

§ 1/4 small Red Onion

§ 2 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup

§ 1 Lime

Great Green Fruit Mix

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 255 kcal

· Protein: 6 g

· Fiber: 3 g

§ 2 cups Beet Greens, Red Swiss Chard, Kale, Spinach or a combination, roughly chopped

§ 1 Golden Delicious Apple

§ 1/2 Comice Pear

§ 10 Strawberries, green tops cut off

§ 1 cup Coconut Water

Great Greens Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 329 kcal

· Protein: 16 g

· Fiber: 0 g

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 55 gm

§ 2 Green Apples

§ 2-3 cups Spinach

§ 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

§ 1 Cucumber

§ 4 stalks Celery

§ 1/2 Fennel Bulb

§ 1 bunch Basil

Green Grape & Pear Juice

· Prep: 10 minutes

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 270 Calories/1131 kJ

· Protein: 5.2g

· Fiber: 3.9

· Total Fat: 1.2

· Carbs: 67.7

§ 1 cup of green grapes

§ 1 pear

§ 1 lime

§ 2 cucumbers

Green Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 325 kcal

· Protein: 12 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 2 gm

· Carbs: 60 gm

§ 2 cups Kale

§ 2 cups Spinach

§ 1/2 Cucumber

§ 4 stalks Celery

§ 2 Green Apples

§ 1” Ginger root

Green Lemonade

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 210 kcal

· Protein: 10 g

· Fiber: 1 g

§ 1 Green Apple

§ 2 cups Spinach (~3 handfulls)

§ 2 cups Kale leaves (~6-8 leaves)

§ 1/2 Cucumber

§ 4 Celery Stalks

§ 1/2 Lemon

Lemon Lime

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 405 kcal

· Protein: 7.5 g

· Fiber: .5 g

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 106 gm

§ 1 Lemon

§ 1 Lime

§ 2 Asian Pears

§ 2 Green Apples

§ 2 Carrots

§ 1 Piece Ginger (thumb sized)

§ 2 cups Purple Cabbage

Mango Salsa Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 180/ 753

· Protein: 2.5 gm

· Fiber: .25 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 37 gm

§ 1 mango

§ 1/2 cucumber

§ 1/4 yellow pepper (capsicum)

§ 1/2 Jalapeno pepper

§ 2 green onions or scallions (shallots)

§ 1/4 cup cilantro (fresh coriander)

§ 1/2 lime

Mean Green Juice

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 310

· Protein: 10 gm

· Fiber: 2 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 57 gm

§ 1 Cucumber

§ 4 Celery Stalks

§ 2 Apples

§ 6-8 leaves Kale

§ 1/2 Lemon

§ 1 tbsp Ginger

Melon Chard Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 320 kcal

· Protein: 10 g

· Fiber: 4 g

§ 2 Apples

§ 1/2 Cantaloupe

§ 1/2 Honeydew

§ 6-8 Leaves Kale

§ 6-8 Leaves Swiss Chard

Mexican-Style Jugo

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 200 kcal

· Protein: 8 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 0 gm

· Carbs: 9 gm

§ 2 large Cucumbers

§ 4 cups Cilantro, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup

§ 1 Lime

§ 1 Poblano Pepper, ribs and seeds removed

§ 1 Golden Delicious Apple

Minty Citrus Juice

· Prep: 10 mins

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 203/839

· Protein: 5.9 g

· Fiber: 7.2 g

· Total Fat: 0.63 g

· Carbs: 36.5 g

§ 2 Oranges

§ ½ Pink Grapefruit

§ 1 Carrot

§ 2 Celery Sticks

§ 1/3 Bunch of Mint

Minty-Fresh Berry

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 319 kcal

· Protein: 5 g

· Fiber: 4 g

§ 2 cups Blueberries

§ 2 Kiwi Fruit

§ 16 Strawberries

§ 2 cups Mint leaves, packed into the measuring cup

Orange Sun Blast

· Prep: 10 minutes

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 192 Calories/807 kJ

· Protein: 5 gm

· Fiber: 2 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 45

§ 1 Beetroot (Beet)

§ 1 Carrot

§ 2 Oranges

§ ½ cup Pumpkin

§ 2 chili’s (Optional)

Peachy Green Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 384 kcal

· Protein: 16 gm

· Fiber: 6 gm

· Carbs: 88 gm (82 gm minus fiber)

§ 2 medium Summer Squash

§ 6-8 leaves of Kale with stems

§ 4 leaves Dandelion Greens

§ 4 small organic Peaches

§ 1 organic Apple

§ 1/2 Lemon

Purple Power Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 470 kcal

· Protein: 5 g

· Fiber: 1 g

· Total Fat: 2.5 gm

· Carbs: 110 gm

§ 6 cups Concord Grapes

§ 1 Golden Delicious Apple

§ 2 2 x 2” pieces Ginger

§ 1/2 cup Blackberries

Reboot Rainbow Juice Salad

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 160 kcal

· Protein: 6 gm

· Fiber: 2 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 27 gm

§ 2 medium Zucchini

§ 2 medium Tomato

§ 2 medium Carrots

§ 1/4 Red Onion

§ 2 cups Swiss Chard

§ 1 tsp Olive Oil (optional)

§ pinch Sea Salt (optional)

§ pinch Black Pepper (optional)

§ squeeze of Lemon (optional)

Red, White, Blue (and Green!) Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 220 kcal

· Protein: 6 gm

· Fiber: 1 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 48 gm

§ 2 1/2 cups Watermelon

§ 1 cup Blueberries

§ 6-8 leaves Swiss Chard

Refreshing Fennel-Pear

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 306 kcal

· Protein: 7 g

· Fiber: 3 g

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 54 gm

§ 2 Comice Pears

§ 2 medium Fennel Bulbs

Root-tastic Juice

· Prep: 10 minutes

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 360

· Protein: 8 gm

· Fiber: 3 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 67 gm

§ 1 large turnip

§ 2 medium beets

§ 2 organic carrots

§ 2 organic apples

§ 1” ginger root

§ 1/2 cup coconut water (unflavored)

Spinach Fennel cucumber

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 170 kcal

· Protein: 10 g

· Fiber: 1 g

§ 1 Fennel Bulb

§ 1 Cucumber

§ 3 Celery Stalks

§ 3 cups Spinach

Sunset Blend Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 436 kcal

· Protein: 9 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 88 gm

§ 1 large Sweet Potato

§ 1 medium Carrot

§ 1 Red Bell Pepper

§ 2 large Red Beets

§ 2 Golden Delicious Apples

§ 1 Orange, optional

Sweet Tart Citrus

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 500 kcal

· Protein: 7 g

· Fiber: 5 g

· Total Fat: .5 gm

· Carbs: 33 gm

§ 3 cups Cranberries

§ 2 2 x 2” pieces Ginger

§ 3 Oranges

§ 2 small Ruby Red Grapefruit

§ 2 Limes

Sweet Summer Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 257 kcal

· Protein: 11 gm

· Fiber: 3 gm

· Carbs: 55 gm

§ 2 Broccoli stalks

§ 2 organic White Peaches

§ 1 organic Fuji Apple

Tabbouleh Juice

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 220

· Protein: 10 gm

· Fiber: .5 gm

· Total Fat: 7 gm

· Carbs: 24 gm

§ 1 big bunch Parsley (approx. 4 cups)

§ 1 Tomato

§ 1/4 Red Onion

§ 1/2-1 Lemon (peeled)

§ 1/2 Cucumber

§ Dash Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Taboulleh Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 220 kcal

· Protein: 10 gm

· Fiber: .5 gm

· Total Fat: 7 gm

· Carbs: 24 gm

§ 1 big bunch Parsley (approx. 4 cups)

§ 1 Tomato

§ 1/4 Red Onion

§ 1/2-1 Lemon (peeled)

§ 1/2 Cucumber

§ 1 tsp Olive Oil

§ Dash Sea Salt and Black Pepper

The Watering Pineapple

· Prep: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 215 (.9 kJ)

· Protein: 6 gm

· Fiber: 1 gm

· Total Fat: .5 gm

· Carbs: 50 gm

§ 1 cup Watermelon

§ 1 cup Pineapple

§ 1 small Beetroot/Beet

§ 2 Carrots

§ 2 sticks Celery

§ 1 cm or 1/2 inch of ginger (more if you like it extra zingy)

V28

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 340 kcal

· Protein: 17 g

· Fiber: 2 g

· Total Fat: 3 gm

· Carbs: 47 gm

§ 3 large Red Beets

§ 2 medium Carrots

§ 2 stalks Celery

§ 4 Plum Tomatoes

§ 4 cups Parsley, leaves and stems, roughly chopped and packed into the measuring cup

§ 1 Jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

§ 12 Red Radishes

Watermelon Lime Juice

· Prep: 10 min

· Total: 10 min

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 160 kcal

· Protein: 3 gm

· Fiber: 1 gm

· Total Fat: 1 gm

· Carbs: 37 gm

§ 3 cups diced Watermelon (seedless)

§ 1 Lime (peel removed)

Watermelon Pineapple Ginger

· Prep: 10 mins

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 155 (649 kilojoule/kJ)

· Protein: 3 gm

· Fiber: .5 gm

· Total Fat: .5 gm

· Carbs: 40 gm

§ 1/3 pineapple, cored and skin removed

§ 2 large watermelon slices

§ 1” ginger root

Weigh-in 2

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 23:36:00 +0000

So much like my last weigh-in post, I can say I cheated last week. Despite my utter lack of self control however, I once again lost weight.

Starting weight: 271.6
Week 1 weight: 261.4
Week 2 weight: 255.6
Total: -16lbs / 5.89%

I am trying to decide what to do to keep me from eating things I shouldn't. The biggest factor in me eating what I want is that, at present, I am winning the weight loss contest at work. If I had someone on my heels or beating me I'm sure I would take better care to juice more. Second in my cheating is just wanting variety. Juice is juice, and while there are many ways to vary up the juice, it's still juice. So I am trying to come up with a game plan that allows me to eat solid food occasionally and not go overboard. I believe what is going to work best for me is juicing breakfast and lunch every day and eating solid food for the occasional dinner. I will still keep the dinner relatively healthy and try not to binge.

So for dinner today...

Plain Grilled chicken with steamed corn on the cob and "chips and salsa". I used uncooked mini sweet peppers as the chips. They worked pretty well. The salsa is basically pico de gallo: tomatoes, jalapeno, red onion, and cilantro with the juice of one lime.

If you look at the portions it may seem like a lot of food. I try to bulk up on the vegetables however because when you juice these things you notice how much you use. It's a lot more than you would tend to eat so I don't feel terrible eating less than I would normally juice.

So there you have it. Juice! Even if you fall off the wagon occasionally like I have, you will probably still lose weight and get healthier and when you do cheat it's likely to be not that bad really.

Side note: One thing I have noticed that will probably keep me from eating too much is that, when you start juicing typically your body flushes out all of the contaminants and food stuffs. Once you're on a steady juice diet, no contaminants or food stuffs. Eat solid food then start juicing again... you get the idea. ; )

Next: Recipe list

New Juicer and More Juicing Details

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:03:00 +0000

My New Baby
Yay! My very own Breville came in. The borrowed model(left) vs. my new ikon(right).
It's a little bit bigger, a little more powerful, 5 speeds. I like it. The other model isn't bad by any means though. Get whichever fits your budget or needs. Thanks to Seth and Kariann for letting me borrow theirs. I know they're excited to have theirs back so they can start juicing again thanks to my inspirational blog. ;)

Juicing in Pictures
I wanted to post some more pictures to show the before and after juicing so everyone can get a better idea of how much juice you get from each item and the prep work etc...

Here's the veg for my favorite red pepper tomato juice.

Looks great, huh? I remove the seeds and quarter the peppers so they fit, remove the vine from the tomatoes, cut the tops off the carrots, and peel the sweet potato. Simple.

Power on the juicer and begin juicing. Here's the juice levels after each item:

Carrots

+ Sweet Potato (Ignore the separation. some of the foam goes away and it mixes up fine)

+ Tomatoes

+ Red Peppers (Great Color!)

All together... over 4 cups. Add the Tabasco and enjoy!

So that's it. Easy and delicious. Also pretty filling. I mentioned that I make my breakfast and lunch the night before. I keep them refrigerated and take them to work the next day. Shake them up and you're good to go. For the most nutritional value, the sooner the better. Most of the good stuff is gone after 72 hours tops.

Up Next: Something...

If anyone has any questions or something they'd like me to cover, let me know.

Cheater

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 04:37:00 +0000

So in my last update I mentioned that I had lost 10.2 pounds over the last 7 days. I have also mentioned how I wasn't perfect over the last week. Here's my recap of when I cheated, why I cheated, and what I had.

Snacks: I mentioned that I snacked on raw almonds. I also snacked on cheddar cheese occasionally.

Day 2 Lunch: I was getting fairly hungry but I probably could have made it through the day. The only problem was when I cleaned out my pantry and fridge I still had some homemade chicken stir-fry leftover. I couldn't let that go to waste so there was cheat #1.

Day 4 Dinner: I was pretty hungry that day and after band practice Wednesday evening leaving me sore and weak, I felt I could use some protein. I had 2 small plain grilled chicken breasts. They were grilled on my Foreman grill so no oil or anything was used. For a side dish I made a kale salad since I had a ton of kale.

Kale Salad:

1 large bunch finely chopped kale
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp chili powder
Optional: Cucumber, carrot, any other vegetable you want to use from juicing

Day 5 Dinner: Plain grilled flounder and the rest of the kale salad.

Day 6 Dinner: My friends called me and asked if I would want to go to a local Italian restaurant for dinner. I couldn't refuse. Nor could I refuse the special of the day: Grilled Swordfish Kebabs and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes. Yum.

And don't tell anyone but I couldn't refuse the daily dessert special of Cherry White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Glaze...

So there you have it. Written down together I realize I cheated a lot. And still lost a good bit of weight. If you wanted to juice 2 out of 3 meals a day and not cheat in any other way then you'd probably still do pretty well. Depending on how heated this competition gets at work I may let myself cheat as much each week or I may have to really control myself. We'll see at the next weigh-in.

Next: Pictures, pictures, pictures and my new juicer!

The Weigh-in

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:04:00 +0000

This is going to be a quick one...

I did the weigh-in this afternoon at work and I was down to 261.4 for a loss of 10.2 lbs over 7 days. Considering I cheated a few times (I'll get to that in my next post), that's not too bad. I am not sure if this will continue on week over week but if it stays close I'll be happy.

More soon...

Juice, juice, and more juice.

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:36:00 +0000

Day 2: Dinner

Dinner on day 1 I decided to try the "Mean Green" juice from FS&ND. I plan on making this my go to juice for the majority of my meals.

Mean Green Juice

· Serves: 1

· Calories: 310

· Protein: 10 gm

· Fiber: 2 gm

· Total Fat: 1.5 gm

· Carbs: 57 gm

1 Cucumber, 4 Celery Stalks, 2 Apples, 6-8 leaves Kale, 1/2 Lemon, 1 tbsp Ginger

Here's what I learned: Most importantly it tastes pretty good. It's light and fresh tasting. Not overly vegetative. Other things you learn: The amount of juice varies greatly from item to item. The cucumber produces the most juice by far, then the celery and apples, and finally the kale, lemon and ginger. You can use that as a basis to help tell what other items may produce. Since I have a large opening on the juicer I fortunately don't have to do a lot of prep. On the celery and cucumber, I cut of the ends (leave the celery leaves) and rinse them off and that's all. Apples go in whole depending on size. Kale is rinsed and put in whole. Lemon is cut in half and put in rind and all. Ginger is just a piece of ginger root broken off and dumped in.

If I want to vary this recipe some I may try a zucchini, or some spinach. Anything green really. I tried using broccoli stalks but the juice to broccoli ratio is not worth it.

I decided that to make sure I juice every meal, I make my breakfast and lunch for the next day when I make my dinner. For breakfast, I make just basic apple juice. It takes about 6 small apples and I'll throw in a carrot or some ginger to vary it up. (Apples give you more energy than coffee.) For lunch I usually make extra of whatever I have for dinner that day. I wake up in the morning, grab my 2 pre-made to-go bottles, some water and i'm out the door. It's actually saving me time, energy, dishes, and effort in the morning.

Before I go any further, let me say that it is very important that you clean you juicer and any cups as soon as you are done with them. The pulp and fibers from the juice will get messy if you let it dry.

Day 3: Dinner - Wow this tastes really good!

For dinner on day 3 I decided to pull inspiration from something that would normally be in my pantry, Pacific Foods Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup.

I put together 4 tomatoes, 2 Red Peppers, 1 Sweet Potato, 3 Carrots, and some Tabasco sauce (I didn't buy any peppers :/)

This is the juice that made me think I could do this! I would want to drink this juice even if I wasn't juicing. I immediately doubled up my recipe and made it for lunch the next day. It was even better with time.

So if there's something you like like salsa, tabbouleh, or squash soup, whatever. You can probably come up with the same flavors in juice. And it's not as weird as you think that it may be cold or in juice format.

No Food

So the questions you're probably asking are "How do you feel?" and "Are you hungry?".

I feel pretty good. The one problem I'm having is that, in addition to cutting of food, I also stopped soda and coffee cold turkey. I drank 1-2 cups of coffee a day as well as a soda or two. I'm having caffeine withdrawal more than anything. I am drinking decaf tea at work to wean myself from the coffee and simulate the same routine. They recommend no strenuous exercise if you're juicing your diet. I've been fine with my normal daily routine which isn't very strenuous but when I had band practice on Wednesday my shoulder was definitely getting sore. I do feel my playing was on point however and I could focus better.

I am not nearly as hungry as I thought I would be. It's mostly mental if anything. I hear people talking about food or see a commercial and I definitely get hungry but no more than when I was eating regular food. If you think you'll be hungry all the time, I would just make extra juice or drink smaller portions more often. I also "cheat" with raw almonds for a snack and some varied nutrition.

Next: Cheating...

Shopping for produce on an empty stomach

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:31:00 +0000

Day 2: Stocking up
So it's the morning of day 2 and I wake up not as hungry as expected. For breakfast I decide to just do apple juice. It takes about 6 apples and it's pretty simple. You can add a bit of ginger, lemon, or some carrot if you want to vary it up. I had taken the day off because based on the movie I knew I would have some strange things happening to my mental focus, energy levels, and digestive system. Plus it helps to not hear people talking about food all day like typically happens at my desk.

I was running out of the vegetables my friends gave me so I decided to go to the grocery store and stock up. To figure out what I needed I went to jointhereboot.com and browsed all the recipes there to see what ingredients were used regularly and whatever else I could find that sounded good.

Here's my list: Watermelon, Ginger root, Tomato, Carrots, Apple - Red, Apple - Green, Kale, Spinach, Squash, Cucumber, Celery, Basil, Mint, Lemons, Grapes - White, Grapes - Red, Blackberries, Sweet Potatoes, Oranges, Red Bell Peppers, Beets, Grapefruit, Broccoli, Limes, Pineapple, Peach, Lemongrass, Banana, Blood Orange, Strawberry, Plums.

So now that I have my list i need to decide where I'm going to get all this stuff. I decided to go to the 3 major options in my area to see who has the best prices vs selection. My first stop is Kroger. They have everything on the list including the rarities like fresh mint, basil, lemongrass, and blood oranges. It feels weird sticking to only the produce area but it's a good thing because browsing the rest of the store would not be good with only apple juice in my stomach. I write down all of the prices and move on to the next stop.

The next stop, Costco. I don't presently have a membership to Costco so I had to weigh the added $55 cost of the membership with the cost of the produce. I have had a membership before so I use my old card to get in and look around. Costco obviously isn't the standard grocery store and it shows. The have about half of the items on the list. What they do have is definitely cheaper and in bulk which would be good for juicing. If you have a Costco or Sam's Club membership already I would definitely get what you can there but I don't think it's worth it just for the produce alone, especially just for one person.

Final stop, Walmart. Blech... I am not a fan of Walmart normally but I know living on fresh produce can be expensive so I gave them a shot. Much to my surprise, Walmart had all but 8 of the items on my list and all of the items looked to be decent quality in addition to being less expensive. I decided to give them a try and make my purchase. To be honest however, the price difference between Walmart and Kroger wasn't that much on most items so I will probably shop at Kroger for my future purchases.

In addition to my produce I also needed to get some supplies to help with the juicing. Here's what else I got. Bottled Water - you need to drink a lot of water while juicing. Coconut Water - This is an excellent filler for juices or good when you want something to drink other than plain water. It has a ton of potassium, magnesium, and Vitamin C. Juice containers - You want to make sure to get containers that won't stain easily and, if you plan on taking them to work, to go type containers. Walmart had a variety to choose from for less than $5 each.

I got a couple of each of these. 20oz. to go for breakfast, 32oz. to go for lunch, and 24oz takeout style cup. My initial purchase wasn't as much as I thought it would be. For the produce alone I estimate i probably spent about $90 and I'm thinking that will last me from 1 to 2 weeks. Considering I wont be eating out or eating as much i think I may end up spending less overall. I'll cover how long each item is lasting in a future post.

So there you go. I'm stocked up on supplies and ready to go. Here's my fridge and pantry after i emptied them out and replaced everything with produce. It certainly looks more appealing than normal.

Up Next: Beginning Recipes: What works, what doesn't, and how I feel.

Finding a Juicer

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Let me begin by saying that I am a sucker for sales. I rarely buy anything for full price, but I will buy almost anything if it's on sale or clearance. Then let me say I paid full price for my juicer. Here's the story:

I will do a lot of research before I buy anything to make sure I'm buying the right thing and make sure that I can get the best price. So when I decided I wanted to juice I had to find the best deal. I asked my coworkers who juice occasionally which models they had. One had a $75 basic Sharper Image model and one had the Juice Fountain Elite model by Breville for $299. Pretty big spread. Then I re-watched "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" (FS&ND from here on out) to see what he used in the movie. That was a Breville Juice Fountain Plus for $149. So... which model to choose? I think I definitely want a Breville model at this point from the consistently high reviews I've seen online for any of them, so I begin the Google search for Breville.

There are a number of models to choose from. Here's the rundown from my research/opinion:

$99 BJE200XL - Juice Fountain Compact: If you can't afford any others you may give this one a try. Only one speed. 700watt. Plastic. Small.
$149 JE98XL - Juice Fountain Plus: As I said above, "the one from the movie". Clearly it should work for a 60 day juice fast then. 2 Speeds. 850watt. Still mostly plastic. Since I'm borrowing one of these right now (the 95XL, older model) I can say it works well. It feels sturdy and durable. It can handle most fruits and vegetables with ease. I can make 32oz. of juice before having to empty the pulp. It's also easy to clean and assemble/disassemble.
$199 BJE510XL - ikon Juice Fountain: 5 Speed. 900 Watt. Stainless steel. With the 5 speed settings, digital display, and stainless steel construction, this model is recommended versus the Plus model if you can spare the extra $50.
$299 800JEXL - Juice Fountain Elite: 2 Speed. 1000 Watt. Die Cast construction. This is the "deluxe" model. The die cast construction and powerful motor means this one can handle regular everyday use with ease. The die cast construction means it can also take the acid from some fruits better.
There are 2 higher models if you have the extra dough but for my purposes I didn't research them at all so I won't talk about them.

My choice

My Googling was not producing the results I had hoped for. I started with the Elite model hoping to find a coupon and get a good deal. No Dice. Not only are the coupons hard to come by, most of the traditional stores (Bed, Bath, & Beyond, BestBuy, etc...) are out of stock on all the Brevilles. Even my go to, Amazon.com, is out of stock on most of the Brevilles or has them for inflated prices. If you want to get the Elite model your best choice seems to be Williams Sonoma(you will pay tax here though) or Brevilleusa.com for full price.

I decided I could do without the Elite model so I then went looking for the Plus. Same problems. Nobody had it in stock for a decent price. Even the older 95XL is much more than retail.

Next, I went looking for the ikon. Again?!?. Same deal. No one has any. Until... I was browsing Brevilleusa.com and suddenly "Add to Cart" was available. I went for it. This model seems to be the best fit for me. I know the Plus model can handle my juicing but for the extra $50 i think the ikon will handle my needs better. No discounts but no tax. $199.99. I also found a coupon code "reboot" which is supposed to get me a free FS&ND DVD. I'll let you know if that shows up.

I'll also mention that if you can't hang with the Breville I did also consider a Cuisinart CJE-1000. This is available at Bed Bath, http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=17351923, in-store and if you sign up for their email list you can get a 20% off coupon. The reviews are mixed on it so I decided to stick with the Breville.

So here we are. I'll give a comparison of the ikon vs. the Plus when i get my ikon in. Hope this helps anyone looking. If you have any questions or find any good deals let me know!

Up Next: Day 2: Grocery shopping on an empty stomach.

Fat, Sicklyish, and Nearly....

noreply@blogger.com (draegen) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 02:50:00 +0000

So, at the advice of my big sis I decided to start a blog about my 12 week juice diet. I'm 5 days in now in now so let me start by recapping my first week so far a little at a time. This diet has been something I've been contemplating for a while now but when my work announced we were going to have a "Biggest Loser" competition I thought this would be the perfect chance to take the plunge. I'm going to try and share my experiences, difficulties, and recipes as I go along. This is mostly for myself but if anyone else gets something out of it... bonus.

Day 1: The weigh-in and first juice.

This weekend I took the opportunity to binge as much as possible before my diet started so I'd have a good beginning weight. I normally sit around 250lbs give or take but by the time I had come to the weigh-in at work I tipped the scales at 271.6. Honestly I had been feeling it recently. I always told myself that I didn't diet because despite the fact that I was heavy, it didn't really impact me any. I am still relatively flexible and I don't get worn out when doing physical activities. I do however have NO motivation to do anything at home and I'm tired of my clothes being tight all the time. So to start this diet I decided I was going to do a juice fast/diet/detox. I am basing my diet on the movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". I am a 30 year old male and I have no major health conditions or chronic illnesses and I decided to go all the way and do the full 60 day fast like in the movie. There are many juice plans available on the "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" sister site, jointhereboot.com if you don't feel like going full bore. They do recommend that if you're taking any medications or have any chronic conditions, check with a doctor before starting.

I had tried to find a Breville juicer before this diet started but they are apparently in very high demand at the moment, probably due to the movie, but I was fortunate enough to have some friends let me borrow theirs until I got one. They have the JE95XL which is no longer available, but you can find the JE98XL as a replacement. (I'll get into the juicers more in a future post) They were also nice enough to drop of the vegetables they had still that they had yet to juice.

My first juice(s) consisted of what they had brought:

Kale - 2 bunches
Spinach - a couple of handfuls
2 apples
Celery - 4 stalks

The juicer worked really well. It has a little bit of trouble with the apple peel but if you cut the apple it does OK. Each item obviously produces a different amount of juice. Apples and celery produce a good bit but kale and spinach only a little. My first cup was pretty good. I couldn't really taste one specific fruit or vegetable but overall it tasted light and fresh. I felt like I would probably need a little more so I made a second cup. For my second cup I added a beet. This was a terrible idea. Beets taste like dirt, FYI. They have a nice color but damn, do they taste like dirt.

Up Next - Day 2: Grocery shopping on an empty stomach and finding a juicer.